AISFP 312 — The Grim Tidings Takeover with Victor Milan

Warning: The Grim Tidings Podcasttakes over AISFP in this special episode where Brent chats with Rob Matheny and Philip Overby about the world of Grimdark, their new…ish show and they play a game of “How Grimdark is it?” Rob and Philip then interview Victor Milan, author of The Dinosaur Lords from Tor Books.

This episode is brought to you by Cracking the Sky from Brenda Cooper, and published by Fairwood Press.

Launching at Sasquan,award-winning author Brenda Cooper’s first science-fiction only collection treats readers to human stories about the future. Meet a physicist who searches across timelines in a desperate attempt to travel across them herself, a young woman who tries to recover the magic of a trip on a river with her grandfather, a young couple who suspect their neighbor child is being raised by robots, and many more ….

Publishers Weekly says about Cracking the Sky:

This capable collection of hard SF stories … focuses squarely on worldbuilding, from the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. to the far reaches of space. Cooper works hard to center each piece on a way that technology has influenced human lives …. Those who love technology-driven stories will find a lot to like.

And James Van Pelt, author of STRANGERS AND BEGGARS, calls the collection “a masterful blend of hard-edged speculation tied to insightful evocations of the human spirit.”

You also can enter the Cracking the Skygiveaway (U.S. residents only) by emailing us your contact information (email and physical address) at adventuresinscifipublishing [at] gmail [dot] com or by sharing episode 312 on Facebook or Twitter (make sure to tag us so we see your post). Enter by Monday, Sept. 14.

In The Grim Tidings Takeover episode:

Brent talks with the showrunners of The Grim Tidings Podcast about their reasons for creating a place all things grimdark and what characteristics one must have to become a lord of grimdark. They finish their chat with a test of grimdark knowledge with a round or two or … three really … of the game “How Grimdark is it?”

You might be surprised at some of the grimdark history revealed.

After the opening segment, Rob and Philip chat with Victor Milan about his novel The Dinosaur Lords from Tor books.

Rob, Philip and Victor discuss:

What’s it like to write dinosaurs (and expand to other media such as comics, TV and video games)

How Victor approached violence in the novel (and whether The Dinosaur Lords is grimdark)

What’s the right balance of grim, hope and humor for a well-rounded story

His experiences in the writing group Critical Mass

His favorite video games (and what it’s like to play table-top games with George R.R. Martin)